POPULATION LESSON PLANS

Updated March 2007 (18 ideas and counting...)

1. Using Population data and Population Pyramids. (Recommended)

An online lesson analysing population data is available HERE. I recommend that you visit this website and use the lesson as a useful Geography ICT lesson. Produced by Noel Jenkins some while back now but still a great lesson resource.

BECTA have also produced an online lesson using Population Data, as part of their drive to make Interactive ICT resources available. There are 4 sections to the lesson to work through.

In NORFOLK ? Go HERE for demographic information. See also later on this page.

3. Defining key terms

Put these on an OHT/ IWB, and use textbook such as Key Geography, The Wider World etc. (or even a non Waugh one) to provide a definition - this could be illustrated, or pupils could have to identify them without using key words (a sort of Taboo approach) or by using ODD ONE OUT:

Also check out Tony Cassidy's GENERATION GAME style conveyor belt.

4. USA TO MEXICO MIGRATION

The border between the USA and MEXICO is perhaps the most busy crossing point in the world. Over 30 million people cross each year, some legally, others illegally. The border is known as the "Tortilla Curtain".

As part of this lesson, we use materials from the Key Geography series, plus a 10 minute clip from the 'Full Circle' series which features Michael Palin at the border on one of his tours (his own website will feature more...), plus a Powerpoint presentation which gives information on a piece of creative writing - some slides adapted from a presentation from SLN GEOGRAPHY, added by Carly Goodwin to whom due credit is given.

There are some useful articles on migration across the USA / Mexico border by searching the archive at CNN news. Apparently the movement dates back to the 1940's when it was encouraged due to a labour shortage during the 2nd World War. It was part of a programme called the Bracero program (from a Spanish word meaning 'to work with your arms') It allowed farm workers to work temporarily in Texas, California and the SW USA. Over 12 million Americans had gone to war. About 5 million migrants entered the USA. (Also featured in the film 'Cider House Rules'...)

When the programme ended in the 1960's, the illegal movement didn't. There are many illegal aliens (subject of a Genesis song...) - recent policy has been to target the people who employ the illegal workers, who face stiff penalties, as a way of discouraging people from employing the immigrant workers. There was also an 'amnesty' for those people who could prove they had been in the country for a substantial length of time.

An article from the 'New Internationalist' magazine with the punny title 'Maid in the USA' looks at the experience of one Mexican migrant in domestic service in the USA. Read it HERE. There is also a famous picture of the migrant who tried to get through the border in 2001 dressed as a car seat. Do a search, and find the This is True site which has a copy of the picture. The migrant was apparently called Enrique Aquilar Canchola. There are also some sites which have a fairly extreme viewpoint, as you'd expect.

There are plans to introduce a 'questworker' system (similar to the Gastarbeiten which were the Turks and other East Europeans (and the boys from Auf Wiedersehen Pet) in Germany in the 60's and 70's...and 80's)

This would allow several hundred thousand people from Mexico into the USA for a few years, after which they would return home. There are the results of a survey on people's attitudes to this plan HERE.

I also play the Genesis track "Illegal Alien" - the lyrics of which I cannot reproduce here of course, but they talk about trying to get to the other side to the promised land, where everything is easy. It's on the album 'Genesis' from 1983, or a live version (far better) is on Genesis Archive 2

6. THE COST OF A BABY

2.4 Children is a thing of the past. People are deciding to have fewer children than in the past. An exercise in simple family tree construction going back 3 generations will show that for most of the people you teach, the family size has got smaller. In some countries there are anti-natalist policies aimed at reducing the population, but in many others it's simply down to the individual decisions made by millions of couples to delay having children and to have fewer. A slogan I've seen in the past is "God stopped at two, so should you."

So how much does a baby cost ?

I've added a simple LESSON here that I use with some groups to investigate the cost of having a child. There are frequent articles in the papers telling us just how much babies cost in the first years of their lives. Also produced a humorous POWERPOINT presentation on the things that parents need..

7. MOVING HERE

This is a fabulous site which looks at the various groups of people who have moved to the UK over the years. We are a mixed race country - based on centuries of various nations invading and occupying and intermingling of Normans, Saxons, Vikings  et al.. Of course, not everyone accepts this, and thinks that 'they were born here' and are therefore British...

MOVING HERE is the address. There are images and stories documenting 200 years of migration. Recommended.

8. CREATE A PERSON

You can create your own VIRTUAL person by choosing from a range of menus at the MY VIRTUAL MODEL site. Then get them an apartment in CYBER CITY.

9. CHINA POPULATION ENQUIRY

"It is a very good thing that China has a big population. Even if China's population multiplies many times, she is fully capable of finding a solution; the solution is production."

Chairman Mao Zedong (1949)

Another excellent enquiry hosted at SLN GEOGRAPHY. The link HERE will take you to an enquiry entitled:

"Can China Feed Itself ?"

There is an article HERE about the China One Child Policy. Another one HERE goes into some detail on how the original rather strictly enforced policy was reduced. There are obvious long term issues facing most of the world.

A new Powerpoint presentation on the One Child Policy (March 2004)

10. LABELLING POPULATION PYRAMIDS

Population pyramids show population or demographic structure.

Give the groups 2 pyramids for contrasting countries: the 2 I have used in the past are BRAZIL/KENYA and FRANCE/UK. These could also be produced by various websites.

There is then a series of labels which need to be added to the pyramids. They have to be a) on the correct pyramid, and b) in the correct place on the pyramid: on either young dependents, elderly dependents or economically active.

Thanks to former colleague Mr. A. Francis for producing this activity.

11. CENSUS POWERPOINT

See the link in the Census 2001 section. This is a great lesson resource.

12. IF...THE GENERATIONS FALL OUT

This programme was broadcast on BBC2 in March 2004 as part of a series of programmes postulating what might happen in the future if some current trends were continued and exaggerated a little.

One of the programmes looked at the possible conflict between the increasing number of elderly people and younger people who would be 'forced' to work for longer to support them in their retirement. As someone who will be retired about the time that the programme was set: the 2020's, so that the 1960's 'BABY BOOMERS' (of which I was one...) are retiring at that time, it was interesting to read some of the comments at the BBC forum set up following the programme.

As we know, there is a trend towards an AGEING population.

Some STATISTICS relevant to this topic on this page.

Go HERE for some of the information on the programme.

A report here about WHY YOUR PARENTS ARE RIPPING YOU OFF

For example, over 50's buy 80% of the top of the range cars sold, and 80% of leisure cruises. How come they can afford these when I have a second hand car and have a self catering cottage in Skegness if I'm lucky.....

Go HERE for the TALKING POINT section with feedback. There's a good poll which looks at 'Who is worse off ? Students or Pensioners ?'

Consider this text message, which was sent to the forum by EH in Somerset:

"I don't want to pay for old people to live it up. Then when they die they will want a fancy funeral and then will leave you nothing in their will"

or this one from Claire in London.

"I remember having geography lessons 10 years ago that warned of the problems Germany was about to face, and the UK could face, but nobody took it seriously. Well I do, because it is my generation that will be made to foot the bill"

13. WORKING OUT RELATIONSHIPS

This word document is the LYRICS TO A COUNTRY AND WESTERN SONG. It's called 'I'm my own Grandpa'

Why not give it to students and see if they can work out whether the relationships are actually correct.

Is this possible ?

Is this likely to happen in some countries with the various population policies in place.

14. CENSUS DATA & INTERACTIVE MAPS

A tip off from a powerpoint presentation which is on the RGS site, and related to an INSET for AS/A2 students by David Rayner.

The Census site allows you to create maps.

15. NORFOLK POPULATION EXERCISE

Links in to the idea of a Settlement Hierarchy.

Using MEMORY MAP, visit the following places. Then using the KEY, the SIZE of the settlement, and the other details you have on the places, try to match the name with the population... The data is taken from a document which recently arrived in school, and will probably be sent to your school too (though not the NORFOLK version...)

Information from Demographic Information Note Issue 5/05: 2004 small area population estimates

Remember that the population values DON'T match at the moment...

The actual details of the populations are HERE

If you're in NORFOLK, visit the COUNTY site or CENSUS EXPLORER.

16. POLISH IMMIGRATION

New page of resources

18. POPULATION MIGRATION

Reasons for moving

Types of movement - classification by motive, or type:

i) forced and voluntary

ii) short term and long term

iii) internal and external

iv) permanent and temporary

Examples of these...

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